The present invention relates to an infant warming apparatus and, more particularly, to an apparatus which includes an overhead canopy that is movable with respect to an infant support to convert the apparatus between an infant warmer function and an incubator function.
There are, of course, many devices or apparatus for the warming of an infant and to supply the necessary heat to maintain the infant at a predetermined temperature. Of the various apparatus, there are infant warmers that are basically planar surfaces on which the infant is positioned and which planar surfaces generally include side walls to keep the infant safely within the confines of the apparatus.
Infant warmers normally have an overhead radiant heater that is located above the infant and which thus radiates energy in the infrared spectrum to impinge upon the infant to maintain the infant at a warm, desired temperature. Since the infant is otherwise totally exposed to the surroundings, there is almost unlimited access to the infant by the attending personnel to perform various procedures on that infant. An example of an infant warmer is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,517 of Falk et al as prior art to that patent.
There are also infant incubators and which are more confined enclosures that contain the infant within an enclosed controlled atmosphere in an infant compartment that provides heat to the infant and also may provide control of humidity in the enclosed environment. Such incubators maintain the infant for long periods of time and include handholes to access the infant. Generally, there is, in addition, one or more doors that can be opened to access the infant or to insert or remove the infant to and from the incubator. Such devices provide a good atmosphere to the infant and control that local environment within which the infant is located, however, it is sometime difficult to perform a wide variety of procedures on the infant due to the somewhat limited access to that infant. An example of an infant incubator is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,824 of Koch et al.
At the present, there are also certain infant care apparatus that have both of the aforedescribed functions, that is, the apparatus can operate either as a radiant warmer or an incubator and one such apparatus is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,935 and entitled “Infant Warming Apparatus” of Mackin et al and assigned to the assignee of the present application. In the Mackin et al patent, the apparatus has a canopy with a radiant heater and the canopy and radiant heater can be moved between an upper position where the radiant heater directs the energy in the infrared spectrum towards the infant to provide heat to the infant and a lower position where the radiant heater is disabled and a convective heating system is provided in the infant apparatus to heat the infant now enclosed within an infant compartment covered by the canopy.
An infant apparatus is also shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,539 of Jones et al, and assigned to the assignee of the present application. In the Jones et al patent, there is canopy having a radiant heater positioned over an infant support and, again the canopy and the radiant heater can be raised and lowered between upper and lower positions where the radiant heater is energized when in the upper position and the convective system provides the heat to the infant when the canopy and radiant heater are in the lower position.
As a further apparatus, there is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/672,948 of Falk et al and entitled “Infant Care Apparatus With Fixed Overhead Heater” an apparatus similar to the Jones et al apparatus, however, in the patent application, the radiant heater is in a fixed location above the infant and only the canopy is raised and lowered to convert the function of the apparatus between an infant warmer and an incubator. As such, the disclosure of the Falk et al application is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
One of the problems associated with the canopy that can be raised and lowered, is that when the canopy is in its lower position, the canopy must seal against the upper periphery of the protective vertical walls that enclose the infant and, therefore, the lower edge of the canopy needs to be aligned with the upper peripheral edges of those walls so that the infant compartment enclosed therein is well sealed to maintain the desired environment. Accordingly, in the manufacture, and particularly the assembly of the infant warming apparatus, there needs to be certain adjustments made to the orientation of the canopy before it is fully locked into position on the apparatus so that the assembler can ensue that the alignment of the lower edge of the canopy and the upper periphery of the walls is correct.
One system for carrying out such alignment adjustment is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,310 of Goldberg et al and, and, in that patent, there is a specially constructed alignment mechanism that is located between an overhead arm and the base of that apparatus in order to allow the assembler to carry out the requisite alignment of the canopy and the lower base. In the Goldberg et al patent, the canopy is therefore pre-aligned by allowing certain degrees of movement of the canopy with respect to eh base and then the canopy is tightened into the aligned orientation.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have an infant warming apparatus that has an overhead canopy that is movable between an upper position where access can be had to the infant resting on an infant support and a lower position where the canopy encloses the infant support to create an infant compartment within which the infant can be maintained in a controlled atmosphere with a system to carry out the adjustment of the canopy orientation to the base of the apparatus in a plurality of directions.